Page 13 of Please Remember

"Laura, I'm—"

"Don't. Just... just go. Please."

Jax nods and reaches out like he wants to touch me, but he doesn't. Instead, he just walks away, leaving me alone in the hallway.

"Are you okay?" Natalie asks, walking past Jax and glaring at him.

Turning to face her, I can't hold back my sobs any longer. "It's over. We're not getting married anymore," I say and slide down the wall.

"Oh, Laura, I'm sorry."

"He never loved me. I knew he'd never love me like he loved her, but I never thought he wouldn't love me at all. I've never been able to compare to her, but I thought he might at least see how much I care for him and love me back."

Her hand rubs my back, and I lean into her. "What can I do?"

"Just... be here? With me. Please?"

Chapter Six

Allie

Leisurely, I dry off in the first hot shower I've taken that I can remember. It feels strange not to have someone watching me. First in the basement, and then in the hospital. The doctor kept me in the hospital an extra two days because I spiked a fever despite the antibiotics, and I was never without someone keeping an eye on me.

Jax has been so sweet, and he bought all of the products he says I love. As strange as it is to be told what I like by someone else, I have to admit that I like the smell of all of them. And feeling clean.

I stayed under the hot water until it ran cold, and I worry Jax will be upset with me for it. The towel I wrap around myself is so large, it feels like a blanket compared to the hand towel I was given in the basement. The fuzzy terrycloth feels good on my skin, and I wear it like a dress, realizing I don't have anything to change into in the bathroom.

"Closet's there," Jax says as he lies on the bed.

"I used all the hot water. I'm sorry."

"That's okay. The water heater will catch up," he says.

I look around the room, suddenly uncomfortable and uncertain what to do. Jax climbs off the bed and opens the closet door for me. Stepping inside, I realize it's a small room filled with clothes and shoes. So many shoes.

"Your stuff's on the right side."

"Are all these shoes mine?" I ask in awe.

Jax brought me a pair of shoes to wear home from the hospital, but I don't remember ever wearing shoes. It seems so strange. All of this is really strange. Maybe I should write about this as I go along because this would make a hell of a story.

"You love shoes. I always joked that I'd have to build you a shoe room in one of the extra bedrooms because you would come home from every shopping trip with a new pair," he says with a smile.

I look at him, confused. "Why didn't you tell me to stop buying them if we didn't have room?"

"Because they made you happy. Besides, there was no telling you what to do. You've always been extremely headstrong. In fact, if anyone told you not to do something, you did it threefold. Just to defy them. Which is part of the reason you and your mom didn't really get along."

Running my hands along the various garments, I stop when I find a dress in a soft cotton. Everything looks so big, but at least a dress should be rather forgiving. The sweatpants I wore certainly weren't, and I can only imagine what a pair of jeans would be like without any hips. I feel like I remember having hips at one point early on, but my limited diet did me no favors.

"I'll let you get changed. Your underwear is in the dresser there, and I'll just wait for you out in the living room when you're ready," he says awkwardly.

Something tells me Jax would have normally watched me change. That I was the type of girl who didn't mind her boyfriend ogling her while she stripped down after a shower.

Part of me feels an excitement at the idea that Jax wants to see me naked. That he wants to touch me. I wondered what his hands would feel like on my body when I was in the shower, and there's a desire I hadn't expected. He's an extremely attractive man, and the way he looks at me makes my heart flutter.

Picking out a pair of black panties and bra, I slip them on and take note that they're only slightly too big. I must've fluctuated weight a bit. The dress hangs on me a little, but it's not terrible. I don't think I'd want to wear it in public, but it works better than the towel I used to cover myself.

I walk into the living room where Jax sits, and I stop in my tracks when I see all the pictures of us. It feels like hundreds, but there's probably only twenty or thirty. All of them show the two of us laughing or smiling or kissing.

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